Yandex Warning! Their "Free Email" Locked me out and wanted $50 to "verify my ID" Minneapolis Minnesota

I've been looing for a Gmail alternative because of the surveillance. So I opened a Yandex account. I was a nice interface, easy to use, and they didn't require phone verification.

I started transferring websites and online doc site email addresses to my Yandex account.

2 days later -- BOOM - I'm locked out. They want me to:

Do do a captcha, several times

Verify a phone number

verify my password

verify my backup question

And -- verify the DOB I used.

Now I have no idea what DOB I used because I do NOT want my private info stored online. So the form REFUSES to go through for me. LOCKED OUT.

I found a 1-800 number and called in. And I'm actually not sure if he worked for Yandex or it was some scam.  He said my account showed "suspicious activity." I have no idea what he's talking about. I had accessed Yandex on my phone and online, and did not use VPN on the browsers he talked about. He said he could pass my info on to a technician at Yandex and for a fee of $49.99 they would kindly "verify my ID."

I lost it.  WTF -- I just opened an account, it's locked me out, and now I  have to pay $50 to get back in, send them my ID, change the accounts I had set up to Yandex, and shut the stupid thing down???  I flew of the handle.

Luckily he mentioned one thing -- he asked if I had tried "reset password." I did that after we hung up and it worked. I got back in, got my accounts changed to different emails, and shut the MF down as quick as I could.

I've NEVER been locked out like this.

Be warned --  Yandex needs help with their programming. I don't trust them.